Police to crack down on drivers who fail to slow down when passing flashing emergency services lights
Police have vowed to crack down on a controversial road law that was introduced just under two years ago. Here’s how you can avoid being hit with a hefty fine.
Law & Order
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Police attending roadside accidents and other emergencies will be out in force with radar guns to fine passing drivers who fail to slow down to 40kmh.
Under the controversial law, introduced in July 2017, drivers must slow to that speed when approaching a stationary emergency vehicle that is displaying flashing red, blue or magenta lights.
The crackdown, known as Operation Regal, will begin this week.
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Assistant Commissioner for Roads Stephen Leane said motorists have had enough time to get to know the rule and were now expected to abide by the law.
“This is about safety of police and emergency service personnel, and we won’t apologise for that,” he said.
“We have been patient, but we need to move to keep our people safe.”
Where there is not a spare officer at the scene to monitor the speed of passing traffic, nearby police units could be called in to assist in doing this.
In the first six months after the law came into effect, more than 130 drivers were fined. This rose to 548 last year.
The fine is $282. Drivers currently incur no demerit points, but police have flagged that this could change.
Victoria is in the grip of a road toll crisis: so far this year, 113 have died, compared with 74 at the same time last year.
Mr Leane defended using police resources to enforce the slow-down law, saying it was about creating a safe place for all of Victoria’s emergency workers.
“We are using other police, when they get opportunities, to protect our frontline emergency services workers,” the Assistant Commissioner said.
Mr Leane said: “Emergency services workers and police, when they are on the side of the road maybe attending to somebody who is critically injured or having an episode, like a mental health issue, then they can’t be holding up radar guns at the same time.
“From this week and the rest of the year, we will be focusing on it, particularly leading into the Queen’s Birthday weekend,” he said.
According to research by the Transport Accident Commission, 80 per cent of Victorians were aware of the existence of the law.
But Mr Leane said many drivers did not know how to react in the situation, and admitted there had been several dangerous incidents on Victorian roads involving vehicles suddenly braking while travelling in high-speed areas.
“In many cases, they (drivers) are reacting slower than what we would like. We need to be careful in and around that as it can create an incident as well,” Mr Leane said.
“When you see lights, we are asking people to progressively slow down.”
Police have discretion in handing out fines but it is understood that drivers who fail to react or who speed past other traffic that is slowing down will be fined.
Similar rules have been introduced in Western Australia and South Australia with relatively little fuss, but there has been a fierce backlash over safety concerns in NSW.
VicRoads recommends motorists not brake suddenly but rather slow gradually to 40kmh when approaching and passing enforcement, emergency or escort vehicles that are stopped or travelling at less than 10kmh.
Drivers can then speed up when a “safe enough distance” from the incident.